If you’re thin, what does the voice in your head say?

I’m still on a maintenance dose as having been size 22 and now a 6/8

That's an incredible achievement!

I was 3 stone overweight (at 5’2) and have lost just under 2 stone on Mounjaro. People who don’t get “food noise” don’t understand how all-consuming it is.

I think about eating all the time. Even after a massive Sunday lunch, like 15 minutes after, I’m thinking about what I can eat next. I suppose some people might call it greed but when you just constantly crave food it’s draining.

The MJ totally silenced the food noise when I started (4 months ago) but it’s crept back in - plus I am reducing my dose because it’s got too pricey, I’m nearing my target weight and I don’t want to be on it forever.

So I’m really trying to deal with the food cravings rather than give in to them. My most successful thing I tell myself is “after you’ve eaten that biscuit/chocolate/bag of crisps, you will feel exactly the same as you do now, but you’ll have undone all the exercise you did this morning”. IE you’ll still crave something even if you eat a treat to “satisfy” the craving. So I just suck a sugar free sweet/ ice poke instead.

But it’s bloody hard!

edited to add - I also remind myself of the lovely clothes I can now fit into and how great it is not to feel bloated all the time.

For me, Mountjaro was an absolute miracle drug because not only did it suppress my appetite to a place where I was in a big calorie deficit enabling me to lose 37 Kilos over a year and 12 inches off my waist. It also completely suffocated the food voice monster, I’m still on a maintenance dose as having been size 22 and now a 6/8.. I never want to go there again. Nothing taste as good as thin feels.

I like sweet things as much as anyone but being vegan helps a lot because it naturally restricts which ones I can have, like if there’s a cake at work I might not be able to have it and I won’t mind or feel like it’s a diet.
My kids would happily eat five ice creams but we tell them say if you have one now you don’t have one later - it’s not as nutritious as some other foods, so you need to eat more of the nutritious foods than foods that’s main benefit is that they taste nice - otherwise you could get full on things like ice cream and not have enough protein, vitamins and fibre. So same for myself I’ll have a sweet thing but just choose when to have it - didn’t have a cake in the cafe this morning because I’ll probably want something after dinner and I don’t want to end up accidentally eating both.

I've always been slim but as I hit perimenopause I have to work harder to avoid meno-belly.

So my inner voice always reminds me how that biscuit might stop me fitting into my fave skinny jeans. I'm determined that nothing will EVER do that.

It happened once, briefly, and I was adamant never again. And so far, touch wood, it hasn't. But once I had lost that little bit of weight I could totally understand KM's controversial 'NTAGASFs' comment.
Because it's true.

There's no voice telling me to resist temptation or to give in to temptation because I don't view food as good or bad. I don't consider certain food to be "treat food". I eat a wide range of food that I enjoy, that nourishes my body and helps me feel good. I don't demonise or idolise any food so I don't crave or have to resist it.

I would have some cheesecake if I want it. If I enjoy it I might have seconds. If it's disappointing then I wouldn't finish the first portion.

Sometimes I notice that my good habits have changed and my trousers are tight or I feel less good in myself and I will refocus on the things I know serve me better.

I like and enjoy food but don’t like thinking about it and food disappointment is annoying to me especially when money is involved so I just eat when I feel up to it.

My DH loves food, asks me about food, talks about it and I have to constantly remind him I don’t think about food as much as he does. He is slim too, eats constantly (except when he is focused) drinks wine every night but he is also active. He has always been someone who thinks about food even as a child.

I do sometimes emotional eat but I’m aware when I’m doing it and then feel ridiculous for doing so and stop.

If someone offers me a biscuit I would eat it if its one I like and I was hungry. I've always been thin but only healthy more recently. I've always used to eat rubbish and have always found it hard to put weight on. I used an app at one point to try to gain weight and I had to eat over 3000 calories a day and I gained about half a stone in 6 months. I had a job where I was on my feet all day but I didn't exercise.
I decided during lock down when I was 37 to start running as its something I always wanted to do. I didn't really change my diet much though. I gained a bit of weight in muscle but only about a quarter of a stone but I liked how toned my body looked. I got fed up with only feeling safe doing certain routes and the bad weather so I then joined the gym. It's only now I have joined the gym and since turnng 40 that I have put more thought into what I eat but I never deny myself something I want. However I always recognise when I'm full or not hungry. I wouldn't just eat dinner because it's dinnertime if I wasn't hungry for example, not that that happens much. I also feel like I make more health conscious choices as I realise being skinny doesn't mean my inside are healthy! I've gained maybe another quarter of a stone in the 2 years I've been at the gym. But I have learnt to be content with what I have and to make it the healthiest and best it can be. I do feel like I actually like and crave healthier food now my body is used to eating it. When we went on holiday there was so much stodge and I really craved fruit and veg, which has never happened to me before!

Me too. I don’t really think about food. I eat because I’m hungry & don’t really give food much headspace on a day to day basis.

Yes! The tight bra thing is ‘a thing’! Mine is a general ‘shit, I’ve lost a ton of weight, put all my clothes on Vinted and now my jeans are tight when I sit down’. To everyone I am thin, because they’ve never seen me a healthy weight. For reference I’m 5’2”, small build and 9st 7lbs (so very far from thin!).

I'm an 'effortlessly slim person'

Always been skinny.

Thin, rather than slim.

I love to cook and eat but never consider it in terms of calories. I just eat what I want.

I do notice I eat smaller portions compared to others though.

I don't have food noise and I wouldn't think of certain food as treats. I eat what I want and only when I'm hungry. I may choose a banana or I may choose a twix. I eat lots and lots of cake because I really like it 🙂 but I would only eat it if I was hungry.

There's no voice. I like nice food but am satisfied with a healthy amount. Same as being able to drink without being a problem drinker etc

I’m a healthy weight but have recently been overweight.

So for me, I try to keep to roughly a 80:20 idea - 80% of the week, I eat healthily and mindfully. 20% week (usually the weekend but doesn’t have to be) I chose what I fancy and don’t feel bad for it.

So if I’m offered a biscuit - I might jumpy straight on for one. BUT if i felt that maybe that week I’d already reached my ‘20%’ of indulgence I might turn it down. Meals out - I usually got for whatever I fancy as only go out maybe once a month. Takeaways (we have one weekly) I opt for something vegetable based and keep my eye on carbs.

Also another one who looses all wanting to eat when stressed

I don’t like feeling uncomfortably full - it’s a really horrible feeling for me. So I stop eating when I can feel it getting near that point.

My appetite is the first thing to go when I’m anxious or under stress.
I get lots of “oh you need to eat” but it’s just not possible when you have no desire to and your throat feels closed up. The way I see it is that for a few days I’ll be ok. I do eat enough to get me through.
The only time I eat when I don’t feel hungry is when I’m racing (run).

I absolutely love food, you're right that I don't have a sweet tooth though, cheese is my thing.
It's hardly a diet food though!

All the people on this thread saying “there is no food noise” or they don’t have a food voice are a case in point. All the references to ‘a biscuit’ or ‘a piece of cake’ are really cute. Those of us who have historically had problems with food understand that we’re not talking about A biscuit, we’re talking about the whole packet, and that no, just having 1 and then putting the rest of the pack back in the cupboard just.doesn’t.work.

I’ve noticed that ‘effortlessly slim people’ tend to not have a sweet tooth and/or just don’t care about/like food that much. They can forget to eat, especially when anxious (as opposed to those of us who overeat when stressed).

Well lucky you 🙄

What do I feel like eating - if I want it, I eat it.

I am slim...healthy range but low end. My weight is mostly down to my genes.

I definitely get food noise...I never miss a meal and am always looking forward to the next one. It annoys me a bit that people assume I don't.

Someone bought cakes into work today and I had one. It is completely alien to me to think that having 1 cake would affect my weight...it won't make 1 iota of difference to me. I also eat a packet of crisps every day as part of my lunch and it's just part of my normal diet.

Ive never had to think 'I cant have that due to weight' but I definitely think 'I shouldn't have that due to health.'. So today I ate a cake no problem but I wouldn't have 3. And I do generally have healthy meals for the same reason i.e. I would prefer to reduce my heart attack and cancer chances.

Having said all this, I have put a bit of weight on (still thin) during perimenopause and I've literally done nothing different...which again shows the impact of biology, I think.

For years I was slim with no particular effort.
The reaction to the biscuit might be yes or no but it wouldn’t be a weight based decision. No inner voice at all.

Now I’m hypothyroid, PCOS, peri… it’s very different. Now it’s a battle and I do have an inner voice.

Prue Leith’s “not worth the calories” is often in my head re sweet stuff as a lot of it is frankly crap - packaged biscuits/cake etc. And the really good sweet stuff (handmade cookies in coffee shops) costs a fortune, so my inner skinflint says “how much?” and that helps me resist those. I don’t bake.

Savoury stuff is harder to resist, especially as we have a house full of it. I managed to avoid snarfing 2 cheese slices yesterday by reminding myself they’d be perfect for a quick lunch toastie for DD today. So not a particular phrase but more a practical reason.

I find snacking on veg easier than not snacking at all, so I buy easy to grab veg like sugar snap peas, radishes, cherry tomatoes and eat those when I feel peckish. It’s probably not as good calorie wise as nothing but it’s a lot better than crisps or salami. Again not a phrase but a habit. I tried having a glass of water when I felt hungry but that really didn’t work!

Very very impressed with that deadlift!

I've had phases of lifting (nowhere near your level) and totally concur, it sends your metabolism through the roof.

"Like a blast furnace" was how I described mine (I'm from Sheffield lol)

I need to get back into it because without it I still eat the same amount, with predictable consequences!